Ezra Yang

When the words, sexual assault, are said today, it’s frequently seen as a taboo word that can’t be spoken about. This is one reason that sexual assault survivors are unable to come out to people when they have been assaulted. This directly affects their experience when it comes to sexual assault. Women in both the documentary and the song had very difficult experiences with sexual assault. The way I saw it they didn’t want to talk about it not only because they didn't want to relive the experience, but also because they thought people would judge them for getting raped, which is absolutely absurd. And the fact that even if women report that they have been sexually assaulted, the perpetrator is rarely handled with correctly, which also contributes to the horrible experience that comes along with the horrible sexual assault. However, when they did talk about it, it seemed as if they’re experience with the assault got better because they knew they had people around them that supported them and were with them for the entire way through. But, that all seemed to change when they weren’t able to get justice for the crime that was committed against them. Many times, it seemed that not getting justice was worse than the actual assault.

1. How can we raise awareness to this problem so people can believe, empathize and support survivors without having to experience the trauma themselves? What voice should the accused hold in these situations?

In my opinion, I do not think that is it possible to support a sexual assault survivor while trying to avoid the trauma itself. Personally, I believe that it is necessary to experience the trauma that the survivor is going through to some extent, if you really want to help them. I think that you can’t fully empathize with someone when you don’t know what it is to feel the way they feel. However, if rising awareness was the goal, then I think that one way we can do it is definitely by making films, and songs about it. I think that by making films, and songs about them appeals to the 21st century mind, and will actually help people fully understand the issue at hand. I also think that schools having a mandatory unit in sexual assault would raise awareness because it educates teens about the horrors that follow a sexual assault.

2. End Rape On Campus (EROC)

The End Rape On Campus, EROC, was founded in 2013 by Sofie Karasek, Andrea Pino, and Annie Clark. This organization works to end campus sexual violence through the use of direct support for surivivors of secual violence, educating on sexual violence, and advocating against sexual assault. EROC is a non-profit organization and receives its funding through donations from supporters. When it comes to the news, EROC is respected by many major news outlets are frequently quoted in articles concerning sexual assault.